“EQC is facing a critical period in its history – rebuilding the Natural Disaster Fund after its depletion by the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes, planning for the organisation’s response to greater frequency of extreme weather events, and finishing the job of resolving outstanding claims.

“Sir Michael’s extensive financial and leadership experience will be hugely helpful as EQC navigates these challenges. Over his years of service to New Zealand Sir Michael has demonstrated a prodigious intelligence, far sighted strategic thinking and a commitment to helping people, which will serve the EQC well.

“I want to pay tribute to the fantastic work outgoing interim chair Dame Annette King has done. I appointed her to lead changes at EQC to speed up resolution of outstanding Canterbury claims and reform the organisation’s culture.

“With half of all the Canterbury claims the Commission had on hand in May now resolved, we have made good progress but there is more work to be done and I am confident in Sir Michael to complete the job.

“Sir Michael’s financial experience will also be vital as we begin the work of replenishing the Natural Disaster Fund which is forecast to be depleted in the coming months. This is the first time in the Commission’s history it has had to call upon the Government’s guarantee that sits behind that fund.

“I look forward to working with Sir Michael to deliver a strong future for the Earthquake Commission so it can continue to play its important role supporting New Zealanders after natural disasters,” says Megan Woods.

New Zealand has about 80 MW of solar, up 17 MW in the past year, according to Electricity Authority data. But only about 16 percent of that is at commercial and industrial sites.

EECA chief executive Andrew Caseley says residential uptake of solar will continue even though it is not a “one-way, sparkly street” in terms of affordability for all households.

Utility-scale projects are unlikely, given the high cost of land in New Zealand, but there is a lot of potential for solar arrays at commercial sites, he told delegates at the Sustainable Energy Association conference in Auckland on Friday.

“There is still a hell of a lot of rooftops, whether it be on shopping malls or warehouses on the outskirts of airfields - wherever they might be - where scale solar deployment I think is still a very practical and realistic option for us to tap into.”

He cited the example of the Corrections Department, which is looking at solar as an option for lowering the cost of summer air conditioning at some of its prisons.

“We just need to broaden our thinking about where that potential exists and where some of these opportunities are,” Caseley said.

One new solar array is installed in New Zealand every 25 minutes according to the association, which represents solar and battery suppliers and installers.

But that relatively slow uptake frustrates environmentalists who point to the extensive subsidies that have been offered in Australia, the UK and Europe – where electricity generation remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Greenpeace is currently campaigning for taxpayer subsidies and low-interest loans to put panels on 500,000 homes by 2030.

In Australia, the state government of Victoria has announced an A$1.2 billion programme to subsidise solar and battery systems for 650,000 homes during the next decade.

Victoria’s electricity generation remains heavily dependent on brown coal and is the most polluting of any state. The state is aiming to have 25 percent of its generation renewable by 2020 and 40 percent by 2025. New Zealand’s electricity was 85 percent renewable in the June quarter.

Simon Corbell, Victoria’s state renewable energy advocate, defended the use of subsidies, saying most of the benefit goes to average income earners. And he said developing programmes at scale, as with Victoria’s recent auction for capacity from large-scale wind and solar projects, drives down costs, creates jobs and accelerates the establishment of local capability.

While New Zealand appears to be on the right track to meet its renewable goals, Corbell urged delegates not to be complacent.

Greater electrification of the economy would need more generation capacity, which requires consistent policy. He observed that a generation investment “strike” in Australia in 2014 and the lack of affordable domestic gas supplies, had contributed to the jump in that country’s energy costs.

Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie said there is still a bias within the electricity industry against solar. Even last month’s issues paper from the Electricity Price Review had been dismissive of the scope for utility-scale projects here.

Mackenzie said the industry has to be open to thinking about large-scale solar in new ways which don’t sacrifice productive land. A random aerial view of Manukau showed ample residential and commercial roof space, as well as potential for the floating solar structures now being deployed overseas, he said.

Solar and battery costs are falling rapidly and Mackenzie said Vector needs to use those technologies if it is to keep up with Auckland’s rapid population growth without building 40-year poles, cables and transformers, which could be uneconomic within 20 years, if not 10.

And if households are to really benefit from solar there needs to be a market that lets them buy and sell surplus power with neighbours, he said. That would sit “parallel” to the existing network.

EECA’s Caseley said solar has a growing role to play in New Zealand, but it is not the country’s only option. And he said the authority’s primary focus has to be on electrification of industry and transport which offer bigger potential climate benefits.

Care is also needed to ensure that the cheapest sources of renewable generation are deployed as the country moves toward 100 percent clean power generation, and that consumers pay a fair share of the fixed costs of distribution as electricity networks are reshaped to cater for more electric vehicles, solar and batteries.

Energy affordability is already an issue for too many households and he sees “greater risk” if the country gets its generation supply mix wrong in coming years, he said.

“It’s a complex balancing act.”

Energy

news talk

]]>max@mscnewswire.co.nz (Max Farndale)ENERGYMon, 01 Oct 2018 12:29:45 +1300Report due out soon will have positive implications for New Zealandershttps://www.mscnewswire.co.nz/component/k2/item/17939-report-due-out-soon-will-have-positive-implications-for-new-zealanders.html
https://www.mscnewswire.co.nz/component/k2/item/17939-report-due-out-soon-will-have-positive-implications-for-new-zealanders.htmlAny day now the Royal Commission will release its initial findings into its first ever review of the integrity systems…

The review covers New Zealand’s financial institutions along with industry bodies, regulators, dispute resolution schemes and the payments and settlement system.

FintechNZ general manager James Brown says the report will have implications for New Zealand, though he says it is encouraging to see the proactive positive work being done already by New Zealand’s major banks.

“Once the report is out New Zealand banks will have one month to do their own report. In the past we have seen sales to dead people, inappropriate products and fees being charged for no reason,” he says.

“Lending in Australia and New Zealand has slowed. So, have banks being doing any stress testing around the next generation and how they view the purchase of a house as a long-term investment?

“With companies like Sharesies and Hatch now making investment more inclusive will the next generation default to the typical buy a house as my retirement plan, or will they consider other options? What would this do to the banking sector that focuses on home lending for the bulk of its income?

“Typically, New Zealand follows what the UK and Australia do and this could be the same for open banking. Minister Chris Faafoi delivered a speech at the Payments NZ conference being very clear that more needed to be done.

“So is now the time for our banks to make a decision about the future of banking and how they want to support the decisions of their customers. This would need to include working with third party providers,” Brown says.

“At a recent Trans-Tasman Business Circle event, a number of the banks made it clear that they are already working with a number of fintechs on various issues which is great to see, he says.

Lending criteria will become tighter because with technology banks and financial institutions will be able to see every piece of lending, income and expenditure that people have and therefore decline when it is appropriate to do so.

The United States Navy has awarded Air New Zealand Gas Turbines a USD$17 million contract to service and overhaul 12…

The work will be carried out at the airline’s gas turbines facility in Auckland and is expected to commence in October, concluding in the 2020 Financial Year.

Air New Zealand Chief Ground Operations Officer Carrie Hurihanganui says this latest contract is testament to the high regard the US Navy has for the airline’s gas turbines division.

“This is a significant win for our Gas Turbines business, building on what has already become a strong relationship with the US Navy to service the engine units that power much of its fleet,” says Ms Hurihanganui.

In early 2017 Air New Zealand Gas Turbines, along with competitor maintenance facilities, secured two significant US Navy contracts which enable each party to bid for turbine overhaul work from a total pool of US $126 million worth of work. Air New Zealand Gas Turbines was also independently awarded three smaller contracts.

The airline last year secured USD$20 million worth of confirmed work covering 11 US Navy engine units. This latest stream of work brings the total committed US Navy work to date to US$37 million for a total of 23 engines.

Air New Zealand Gas Turbines is a business unit of Air New Zealand, providing gas turbine overhaul and repair services to clients across a range of industries. The business began sourcing work in the industrial and marine sector more than 35 years ago and has since supported several of the world’s navies, offshore oil and gas platform operators and power generation companies.

The new coin is a legal tender, coloured, circulating 50c coin to remember the sacrifices made by service personnel and their families to bring peace to New Zealand and the world. You can spend it, or keep it to remember.

Two million of these coins have been minted. The standout feature of the Armistice Day coin is the use of colour – a striking red, green and white – that highlights the poppy and remembrance wreath.

As with all new currency the Reserve Bank issues, a public awareness campaign has started to inform the public the new coin is legal tender, so can be exchanged for goods and services just like New Zealand’s other coins.

To bring the coin’s features and the story of Armistice to life, a free augmented reality app has been created for iOS (Apple) and Android devices. Scan the QR code with your mobile (just use your camera in iOS) and you’ll automatically be taken to your app store to start the download. The app uses tracking so when you point your phone at an Armistice Day coin (or a picture of one) video and other interactive content will appear for you to explore.

]]>max@mscnewswire.co.nz (Max Farndale)BUSINESSMon, 01 Oct 2018 10:20:59 +1300Ministers to meet world energy leaders at premier Wellington eventhttps://www.mscnewswire.co.nz/component/k2/item/17936-ministers-to-meet-world-energy-leaders-at-premier-wellington-event.html
https://www.mscnewswire.co.nz/component/k2/item/17936-ministers-to-meet-world-energy-leaders-at-premier-wellington-event.htmlGovernment Ministers and energy sector leaders from around the Asia Pacific will meet at a Summit in Wellington later this…

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) and World Energy Council (WEC) will host their second Asia Pacific Energy Leaders’ Summit from October 31 to November 1 at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa.

New Zealand Minister of Energy and Innovation the Hon Megan Woods and Minister of Climate Change the Hon James Shaw will host a Gala Lunch and Networking Event to discuss the economic transition faced by countries that are moving to decarbonise their economies.

The event will also feature Prime Minister of the Cook Islands the Hon Henry Puna.

The New Zealand Government is attracting international attention for its ambitious climate change goals, says WEC Secretary-General Dr Christoph Frei.

The targets - 100pc renewable electricity, in a normal hydrological year, by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050 - commit New Zealand to a long-term transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.

"Climate change is a global issue, and one that necessitates leadership and collaboration between countries if action is to be effective," Dr Frei says.

"The Summit is an opportunity to showcase our respective country capabilities in the provision of renewable energy and to demonstrate leadership on climate change action."

The programme features international speakers from Amazon, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Daikin, Uber and innovators from Silicon Valley.

They will share insights on how to accelerate innovation, design new customer-centric business models at a time of rapid change, and create the future rather than predicting it.

"The 3D vision - New Energy Perspectives Summit is a must-attend event for those who want to be better equipped to understand and deal with the changing energy landscape," says BEC Chair David Caygill.

"The traditional energy landscape is shifting with the meta-trends of decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation [the ‘3Ds’] at the fore. But as the risks shift, so too do the opportunities.

"What will the future energy system look like and how can you be a part of it? This event will provide a unique platform to challenge ideas and reach new understandings as we look to futureproof the energy systems of the Asia Pacific region and beyond."

Massey University’s Manawatū campus will soon have a state-of-the-art consumer and sensory science facility, to help determine what drives people…

The $2.2 million facility for the Food Experience and Sensory Testing Laboratory, funded by Massey, will sit on the site of the old Ecology Building, alongside the Food Pilot and upcoming Food Science Facility.

College of Sciences Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says the investment continues to build on the strong food science capability at Massey and in the Manawatū.

“Food science has always been a major focus of the campus and we are continuing to ensure we have the best facilities in the world here for our researchers and for New Zealand companies. The timing of this latest investment is excellent as it coincides with the innovative new ideas, initiatives, and increased collaboration from Manawatū food organisations.”

The facility will increase the already strong food-science presence in Palmerston North from the likes of FoodHQ, Fonterra, AgResearch and Plant and Food Research.

Professor Joanne Hort led the case for the facility as the Fonterra-Riddet chair in consumer and sensory science.

“We are on a journey to becoming a global leader in consumer and sensory science research, and this facility is a big part of allowing us to do that. It will enable the delivery of programmes at the cutting edge of consumer and sensory science research,” Professor Hort says. “Our research is consumer-focused, we seek to understand what people like in food, what influences their enjoyment. As well as understanding the sensory properties of food and beverages, like taste and smell, we can also evaluate perception and how packaging and labelling influences people’s decisions.

The facility will have immersive environments where consumers may experience foods in different settings and for different occasions. There will be the capacity to test with mixed and virtual reality and the traditional sensory booths and rooms for focus groups.

Fonterra’s director of research and development, Mark Piper, says that consumer-centric innovation is critical to the success of New Zealand’s value-added agenda to which Fonterra is committed.

“This world-class facility is an important part of the solution in delivering this and should be a cornerstone of Massey’s credentials as a leading food science university.”

“The laboratory is very important to the future research direction of the Riddet Institute, one of New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence. To be able to link sensory perception to consumer decisions right through to the digestion of food is fundamental to the future of the food industry in New Zealand.”

Professor Hort’s research team, established last year, has been busy working on projects for Riddet, the FoodPilot and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise. These have involved establishing expert sensory evaluation panels and a consumer database of participants made up of members of the public who have so far been instrumental in researching dairy products, meats, and New Zealand-made gin.

Other projects include student-led work to examine the impact of context on how people respond to eating snack foods. It achieves this by comparing the experience of eating snack foods in a real and a traditional sensory environment, with a mixed reality environment which provides a virtual experience of their surroundings via a HoloLens.

“Our new facilities will be an asset for consumer-centric food companies developing new foods for New Zealanders and export markets,” Professor Hort says.

“We’re growing our capabilities by the day with the cooperation of many organisations all committed to producing the best food. A big part of what we are doing is putting consumers at the centre of food product design ensuring foods are good for health, meet what’s wanted in international markets and, importantly, means people enjoy their food.”

All eyes were on Europe on Friday with the EUR and European equity markets all selling off after the Italian coalition government proposed a 2019 deficit of 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), triple the previous administration's target.

The new government which came to power in June, is due to present its 3-year growth forecasts to the European Commission in mid-October with the Commission looking for a sharp reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio which is largest among the big European economies at about 131%.

The DAX closed the day down 1.52% on the news with the CAC down 0.85% from where it opened. The EUR was down circa 0.5% against its main rivals.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for the month of September downwardly revised to 100.1 from the preliminary reading of 100.8. Economists had forecast the index to remain unchanged.

The week ahead is very light on domestic data with tomorrow’s business confidence and the latest GDT auction in the early hours of Wednesday morning the only releases of note.

Gold prices edged higher on Friday up 0.3% closing out the quarter at $1,191 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices continued to push higher on Friday, closing out the quarter at $73.06 a barrel.

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Growing fruit and vegetables commercially is not all about serious business and finances. A small New Zealand produce farm, called…

Recently they were contacted by a lady, who lost her husband, and wanted the Tringhams to help keep a tomato variety alive in his honour.

"He got them during the war (WWII) in Italy, he kept them every year, and is now deceased, and she said she just wanted someone to keep them going," Angela said. "It broke our heart, but also inspired us. So, we've kept growing those, plus we reach out (to other growers) saying we have got these seeds. We have got no idea what they are called. So, we have called it, as it was Mrs Barton, Barton's Choice. It is really super multi-locular, like a beefsteak, but more locular. It's in a category of its own - it's not like any other tomato. It's very round, a lot of the red ones we do are a little bit more oval, and flat on top, this is quite round. It's more on the orange side than red."

Anthony, who is also on the board for Tomatoes NZ, adds that it was not uncommon for migrants to bring seeds with them, before the tightening of biosecurity. While The Curious Croppers often get given seeds by customers to add to their growing collection.

"I think if you grow interesting stuff, it is easy to get together with people who are passionate about that sort of thing, they don't hold things to themselves," Angela added. "Everyone wants to share. It's not a copyright thing. One of our best tomatoes is our Spanish Red, and people often ask for the seed. We don't keep the seed to sell for that, but we tell people to come to the market to buy it, or get a taste tester and spit out the seeds to keep and plant. We also know that with modern genetics you do lose things along the way, but you don't know what you are losing. So, it is important to keep a lot of old genetics."

The family live in Clevedon, South Auckland in a 150-year-old farmhouse. On the property there are some greenhouses and some old tunnel houses, where they grow their tomatoes. They used to grow pre-pack cherry tomatoes to supermarkets, before they were impacted by a combination of Tomato potato pysllid (TPP) and imports, mainly from Australia. Angela admits that they were thinking about giving up then, but they decided to focus on the areas of farming that made it fun, rather than just serious production.

"We were going to get rid of the tunnel houses because they were non-functioning," she said. "But then we decided, because Anthony likes to play around with things all the time, that we would turn them into the 'play houses' - that's where we constantly grow stuff, grow new stuff, interesting stuff and just see how it goes."

The Curious Croppers had to do something different, that no-one else was doing. After being encouraged by their friend Helen Dorresteyn to join the Clevedon Farmers Market, they got good sales with their punnets of cherry tomatoes, which kept them going back to the farmers market.

"After keeping us at the markets for not even 6 months, we diversified into other varieties that people thought we should grow," Anthony added. "So that's strange and unusual varieties of tomatoes. We have Zapotec, from South America, because it's really crinkly, Oaxacan Jewel from Mexico because it has yellow and red stripes through it, big Brandywines are just the biggest yellow tomato that ever existed, and Oxheart because they have the loveliest shape."

Angela added that the most important thing is growing for flavour, saying tomatoes get their most flavour on the last few days of ripening. Although they have started selling into Hong Kong, Curious Croppers restrict the yields and sell to local customers who really want to buy their products. This model means that it would be difficult to sell to wholesale markets, which are often volume-driven.

"One thing that I have loved in the last couple of years is the average consumer, and chef, have started to get far more savvy, about the fact fresh food shouldn't last that long," Angela said. "It's not right and not what nature intended. We also want to make vegetable growing fun, because there's a bit of a disconnect between the city people and the growers in the rural areas. We get sick of hearing that this particular vegetable is expensive at certain times of year. That may be because it is out of season, or it has been raining for weeks non-stop. People don't think about this."

The Curious Croppers say that another one of their objectives is to create a growing world where no one sprays, and the business is currently involved in growing flowers and weeds to collect beneficial insects for an agroecology project (which Fresh Plaza will detail in a future article).

On Friday 5 October, Ports of Auckland will take delivery of three giant new container cranes. The cranes, which stand…

"We need bigger, faster cranes so we can keep up with Auckland's growth. More people in the city means more freight. The ships that bring our goods from overseas are getting bigger, so we need to make sure we can handle them. With these new cranes, and the new deep water berth they will sit on, we'll be able to handle the biggest ships coming to New Zealand." - Matt Ball, Ports of Auckland spokesperson

The cranes will be moved onto the wharf over the following week and there will then be a five to six month commissioning process before they start operating.

KEY FACTS:

Height: 82.3 metres (current cranes are 69.2m). For comparison, the HSBC building in downtown Auckland is 81m and the Auckland Harbour Bridge is 64m.

Weight: 2,100 tonnes (current cranes are 1,200 and 1,300 tonnes)

Able to lift four containers at once, weighing up to 130 tonnes, a New Zealand first (current cranes can lift two, up to 65 tonnes)

Able to be remotely operated – a New Zealand first.

Able to lift containers stacked at different heights (up to 1.2 metres height difference). A world first.

Lash platforms, a New Zealand first and an industry-leading safety innovation.

Can service ships of over 11,000 TEU, future-proofing Auckland's port against future ship size increases.

Outreach: 21 containers across (current cranes 16 and 19 across)

Boom length (waterside to tip): 70m (current cranes 50.7m and 56.9m)

Built in Shanghai and took three weeks to sail from Shanghai to Auckland

Enough solar panels to power the average Kiwi home and 100% LED lighting